


easter lilies

by yataaa



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Afterlife, Fanart, Ficlet, Flowery Metaphors (literally lol), Gen, Implied Character Death, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sort Of, Therapy Via Gardening, baby’s first fanfic, does character death count if they’re already dead lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 06:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20131078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yataaa/pseuds/yataaa
Summary: Angeal finds himself in a field, alone for miles except for the young woman standing in front of him.





	easter lilies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LettersofSky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LettersofSky/gifts).

  
  


“You must be Angeal! Zack’s told me a lot about you!” The young woman waving at him smiled with easy familiarity.

“I- you-” Angeal swallowed and tried again. “Zack did?”

“That’s right,” she giggled. “I’m Aerith!”

“The flower girl. Zack talked a lot about you too. I’m…” He trailed off awkwardly. He couldn’t just say “I’m sorry for your loss” to someone who was obviously already dead, if her being in the Lifestream with him was any clue. “Why am I here?” He asked instead.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Me?”

“We never got to meet before! From Zack’s tales, you sound like a wonderful person to be around.”

Zack. Full of light and so much potential until… well. Angeal hadn’t even seen his protege since that day.

“You know, he’s been looking for you.”

“I didn’t want to be found. By him.” The last part was belatedly tacked on in an attempt to justify some point unknown to even Angeal himself.

Aerith just hummed agreeably and stared at him. Her eyes were green, incredibly so. In this light, they had the same intensity as the tendrils of pure Lifestream around them.

She seemed to see right through him. A distant part of Angeal wondered if she could see down to the darkest parts of him, where he let his regrets fester, grow too many limbs and hold him down in a clawed grip.

Abruptly, she turned around and began walking.

“Walk with me,” she said.

* * *

Despite what she said earlier, Aerith did not ask him any questions, for which Angeal was grateful. They spent some time walking in companionable silence until they came across a clearing in the tall grass, most of which was covered by a half finished garden. Aerith kneeled by the plot of soil.

“Sit.” She patted the ground next to her.

Angeal sat.

“Put these on.” She held out a pair of gardening gloves.

He put them on. They fit perfectly.

“Hold this.” She promptly dropped a handful of dirt into his hands.

Angeal just barely managed to cup his hands under it. A small seedling poked out of the top. Like most objects in the Lifestream, it had a slightly out-of-focus quality to it, as if it were being viewed through a plastic film. Aerith began digging a hole in the ground.

“Aerith what-”

She flashed him a quick smile. “I know you know how to garden. Zack really likes bringing that up.”

Angeal stiffened. “Right.”

They repotted several seedlings before she spoke again.

“He doesn’t blame you.”

Angeal very carefully continued to pat the dirt down around a flower.

“Zack.” She took a deep breath. “Everything that happened to him; sure, he was upset—angry, even. But he never blamed you. Doesn’t blame you.”

“He should. Years before Zack,” Angeal’s voice cracked, “before he died, I did something unforgivable.” The regret sunk its claws deeper. “I don’t know how much of my death he told you about but I… betrayed him. I betrayed our honor as SOLDIERs and I betrayed his trust in me as his mentor.”

Aerith hummed again. “Well, he’s always been the forgiving sort. Especially when it came to you.”

Angeal made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

“I know you regret what happened, and I know it won’t be easy making amends,” she continued. “But, I think the first step is learning to forgive yourself. Even just a little bit.”

“How?” Angeal asked.

Aerith turned back to their garden. “Mmn, I imagine it’s a bit like what we’re doing right now. All flowers start as a small seed. They need a lot of attention to grow, and sometimes it’s a lot of work. Most important, though, is the belief that one day you’ll have a lovely flower at the end.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. Step by step. Before you know it, you’ll already be there!” Aerith smiled. “Of course, it won’t always be that straightforward, but you have to start somewhere.”

She tilted her head, eyes focusing somewhere Angeal couldn’t see.

“Zack should be coming back in a few minutes. What do you say? You can leave if you want to.”

Angeal took a deep breath and exhaled, the claws around him loosening their grip just slightly. He shook his head.

“I think I’ll continue working on this garden with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know this request was for a more lighthearted moment between Aerith and Angeal in the lifestream but this idea ran away from me. I really like this prompt though, so i might try to make something fluffier in the future :O


End file.
